1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a glass run channel assembly mounted in a window frame of a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a window frame provided in a vehicle, such as a car, particularly, a window frame (referred to as a door frame in this case) provided in a main portion of a door panel of a slide door, a front door, a rear door, or the like, is mounted with a glass run channel assembly (referred to as a glass run, a glass run channel, a guide member, etc.). The glass run channel assembly for this application is a groove forming member (long molding member) which is molded long and which has a substantially U-shaped cross-section, and is mounted to a groove formed in a window frame, thereby guiding lifting/lowering of a window pane made of glass which moves up and down inside a member (for example, a door panel) which constitutes a vehicle. Generally, the glass run channel assembly is manufactured by performing extrusion molding or the like by using an elastic polymeric material, such as rubber or thermoplastic elastomer.
This kind of glass run channel assembly corresponds to the shape of the window frame, and includes a plurality of glass run channels which is molded in a long shape by extrusion molding, and a connecting glass run channel arranged at a corner portion of the window frame as a molded article which connects at least two long glass run channels. Generally this connecting glass run channel is molded by injection molding.
In this kind of glass run channel assembly, there is a possibility that displacement may be caused from a predetermined mounted position by the stress which acts when a glass window pane moves up and down, and a device for preventing the displacement is required. As one of the means which prevents such displacement, it is known that a protrusion for preventing movement is integrally provided at the corner portion (i.e., the above connecting glass run channel) of the window frame. By bringing this protrusion into contact with a portion of the window frame component member, it is possible to regulate the movement (displacement) of the glass run channel assembly accompanying the lifting/lowering of the window pane.
Meanwhile, it is conventionally suggested that the protrusion is formed from a harder material than a material which constitutes the main body of the connecting glass run channel so that the protrusion can maintain desired functions without being softened even when a glass run channel assembly for a vehicle is used under the condition of a high temperature. If even a slight gap exists between the hard protrusion and a mounted member (for example, door frame component member) in a case where the protrusion is provided using a hard material, when the hard protrusion strikes the mounted member during the lifting/lowering of the window pane, a noise may be generated due to the striking. In order to prevent this, Patent Document 1 discloses a glass run channel assembly and its manufacturing method characterized in that, an insert member made of a harder material than a die-molded portion is arranged in a portion (die-molded portion) corresponding to a corner portion of a glass opening in a glass run channel assembly, and the surface of the portion of the insert member corresponding to the protrusion is coated with a material (i.e., a relatively soft material) which constitutes the die-molded portion. Although it is unclear what sort of meaning the above “die-molded portion” has, this point will not be mentioned in this application.
[Patent Document 1] JP-A-2007-196909
However, the following problems are conceivable in the technique described in the above Patent Document 1.
(1) That is, in the above technique, it is necessary to arrange the above insert member which constitutes the protrusion within the molding die, and inject a molten material which constitutes the die-molded portion into the molding die, thereby molding the die-molded portion integrated with the insert member. For this reason, it is necessary to fix a hard insert member within a molding die to be used, and therefore, the structure of the molding die to be used becomes complicated. Additionally, since the insert member exists within a cavity, the flow of molten resin is obstructed, or the heat of the molten resin is lost. Thereby, the short shot in which the molten resin is not sufficiently spread to the cavity may be caused.
(2) Additionally, with the problem of the above (1), there is a possibility that an unrestorable defective article may be formed in a case where the insert member has not been correctly arranged in a predetermined regular position within the molding die with complicated structure, in a case where the insert member itself has not been inserted into the die, or in a case where the insert member has been displaced due to the pressure of the injected resin. Additionally, in a case where the molding die is closed in a state where the insert member has not been correctly arranged in a predetermined regular position, there is also a possibility that the molding die may be damaged.
Moreover, there is a great constraint in practical use that a high heat-resistant material which does not deteriorate in a molding process when the die-molded portion is injection-molded should be used as a material for the insert member.
Thus, the invention has been invented in order to solve the above problems (1) and (2), and the object thereof is to provide a glass run channel assembly of a configuration capable of exactly providing a protrusion serving as the above displacement suppression means in a predetermined position of the glass run channel assembly. Additionally, another object of the invention is to provide a method of stably manufacturing a glass run channel assembly having the above protrusion by a simple manufacturing apparatus. Additionally, still another object of the invention is to provide a window frame structure (for example, a door frame) of a vehicle in which such a glass run channel assembly is mounted in a predetermined position.